Originally Posted By: djones
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Yes
Yes
Originally Posted By: gjohnson
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Not all the far fetched, if you did two home inspections a day five days a week at an average of $350.00 an inspection you would earn well over $150,000.00
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Gary (Snicker’s) Johnson - Free NACHOS
The NACHI Foundation
Executive Director
301-591-9895
Originally Posted By: jhagarty
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Joseph Hagarty
HouseMaster / Main Line, PA
joseph.hagarty@housemaster.com
www.householdinspector.com
Phone: 610-399-9864
Fax : 610-399-9865
HouseMaster. Home inspections. Done right.
Originally Posted By: gjohnson
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Exactly, trust me I know that… However, my business runs on a %10 operating cost so earning the 182,000 that that would pay would only yield me about 18k in expenses…
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Gary (Snicker’s) Johnson - Free NACHOS
The NACHI Foundation
Executive Director
301-591-9895
Originally Posted By: gjohnson
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Alright Joe,
You got me there... I didn't add in any of the taxes in there. I was thinking primarily of E&O, Gasonline, Tools, and advertising. You are right though the taxes is what kills you.
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Gary (Snicker's) Johnson - Free NACHOS
The NACHI Foundation
Executive Director
301-591-9895
Originally Posted By: gjohnson
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Yep I agree…But didn’t you just wish you could have your business gross life would be so much more fun…
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Gary (Snicker’s) Johnson - Free NACHOS
The NACHI Foundation
Executive Director
301-591-9895
Originally Posted By: ekartal
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Heard of a guy in Boston that gets $800 per inspection minimum. Many inspectors could achieve this goal if we all raised our prices!
In my area a seller pays about $20,000 to sell a $350,000 home. 
Erol Kartal
ProInspect
Originally Posted By: rray
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My total expenses average about 25% per inspector. However, if I look at just non-recurring expenses (gas, batteries, paper, ink, postage, etc.), they do average about 10%.
Once my company gets to the maturity stage, I expect each full-time inspector to gross between $100K and $200K for my company doing just inspections. At that time I expect myself to gross between $200K and $300K doing just inspections.
We are in our growth phase right now and growing by leaps and bounds. We're still adapting our system, our reports, our marketing, etc. At the end of the first quarter, the company was on target to do about $150,000 this year. However, we are in our high-business middle nine months of the year, so I'm really expecting to do about $200K (maybe more) in this, my third year. Expenses have fallen dramatically, so I expect to very easily have a net taxable income of at least $125K. And if I give about $100K to NACHI, that means I'll only have about $25K to pay taxes on.
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Home inspections. . . .
One home at a time.
Originally Posted By: gjohnson
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Why would you only have 25k in taxable income?
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Gary (Snicker’s) Johnson - Free NACHOS
The NACHI Foundation
Executive Director
301-591-9895
Originally Posted By: rray
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Ooooooops. Sorry. To The NACHI Foundation.
However, on second thought, isn't NACHI a non-profit, also? So either one would work. Okay, I'll give $100K to the foundation and the other $25K to NACHI.
There. All gone, gone. Tax on zero is still zero.
See, the nice thing about having your own company, particularly an S Corp, is that your goal is to make a decent salary. However, you don't want to make too much because they you pay double taxes on it. So you run up the expenses as much as you can. Goal at the end of the year is basically to spend as much as you take in. My goal is always to start the year with 10% of what the company earned in my bank account. The rest has been spent in some form or fashion. That makes the taxes low and gives me enough to continue on.
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Home inspections. . . .
One home at a time.
Originally Posted By: gjohnson
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Russel,
NACHI is non-profit, but I don't think it falls under the category of non-profit you can take a tax deduction for.
However, the Foundation that is different, it works as a public charity.
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Gary (Snicker's) Johnson - Free NACHOS
The NACHI Foundation
Executive Director
301-591-9895
Originally Posted By: rray
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As far as I know, a non-profit is a non-profit. You mean I can donate to one non-profit but not another? Hmmmmm. I’ll have to ask my CPA about this one, not that I would give NACHI all that money anyway, you understand.
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Home inspections. . . .
One home at a time.
Originally Posted By: kmcmahon
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| gjohnson wrote: |
| Russel,
NACHI is non-profit, but I don't think it falls under the category of non-profit you can take a tax deduction for. However, the Foundation that is different, it works as a public charity. |
I think you mean Charitable...that's the only type of deduction you can make on your taxes.
Non-Profit and Charitable are two different entities.
Regardless if NACHI is Non-profit or not, it's still a write off on your taxes as a professional business expense, but not a charitable contribution.
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Wisconsin Home Inspection, ABC Home Inspection LLC
Search the directory for a Wisconsin Home Inspector
Originally Posted By: dbowers
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Russell - When you said you don’t walk any ROOf, do you have a special clause or ??? in your inspection agreement that covers this or how do you handle it??
Any time an agent or buyer tells me they were shopping some competitor and he walks EVERY ROOF - Do I? I tell them flat out whoever said that LIED - AND if he lied about that how many other things will he lie about. If they ask what I mean I tell them simply that - Due to type of roof (old slate, etc), weather conditions, height of roof (over 10/12), condition of roof (old brittle wood shingles, etc) - NOBODY can walk EVERY ROOF.
But most of us probably walk at least 50% of the roofs we inspect. How do you get by with ZERO WALKS? Not hammering, just curious.
Originally Posted By: rray
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Education, education, education.
When I was a consultant in the wireless telecommuncations industry, our motto was "Manage your Client's expectations." We were the best consultants in the industry doing that, managing. Were we the best company? No. But we charged the highest rates because our Clients never had any surprises. They always knew exactly what they were going to get from us. And we delivered.
I do the same thing with my home inspection company. My Clients always know exactly what I am going to do, what I am not going to do, what I can do (in the State of California), and what I cannot do (in the State of California). They know my limitations. They understand my limitations. They acknowledge my limitations.
My home inspection agreement has this paragraph, at the left of which they must initial indicating that they have read and understand it, just like renting an apartment when you have to initial every stupid paragraph (as a landlord, I have adapted some things to my home inspection agreement):
Quote
9. ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS. Inspectors DO NOT do any of the following: . . . (4) walk on or access a roof where it could damage the roof or roofing materials or be unsafe for the inspector. . . .
Unquote
Christmas is just around the corner.
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Home inspections. . . .
One home at a time.
Originally Posted By: rray
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I haven’t seen any Standards of Practice anywhere that require home inspectors to walk roofs. And since roofing contractors are licensed here, and home inspectors are not, I have been advised not to intrude too deeply into jurisdictions of other licensed professionals.
About a year ago, I was at an inspection and my Clients asked me if I walk on the roof. I said no and explained why. Towards the end of the inspection, Mr. Client comes up and says that one of my competitors is across the street doing an inspection, and he is up on the roof. I walked out with Mr. Client and saw Mr. Competitor up on the rooftop. I told my Client that there were several possibilities, two of which were that Mr. Competitor had an inherent need to prove that he was much better than anyone else, sometimes known as excessive testosterone, or that Mr. Competitor was a former roofing contractor and understood the many varieties of roofs better than I do. I offered to stop the inspection with no charge so Mr. Client could go hire Mr. Competitor. Mr. Client declined.
We wrapped up and left about ten minutes later.
Early that evening, we got a call from Mr. Client. Shortly after we had left, Mr. Competitor fell off the roof. Mr. Client stayed around until the ambulance had hauled Mr. Competitor away. Well, it's a good thing that Mr. Client didn't stop the inspection and go hire Mr. Competitor because Mr. Client would not have received a home inspection report. Mr. Competitor died in the hospital a couple of days later.
I'm gay, so, almost by definition, some would say that I don't have a lot of testosterone anyway  so I just prefer to keep all that I have and don't need to prove to anyone how macho I am; past that stage of life.
Anyway, manage your Client's expectations. Educate, educate, educate. Teach, teach, teach. Explain, explain, explain. Disclaim, disclaim, disclaim. And do the best darn job you can with your limitations fully out in the open.
Christmas is just around the corner. 
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Home inspections. . . .
One home at a time.